In the wake of Puerto Rico’s plans to sell $2 billion of general-obligation debt to try to balance its beleaguered budget, the hedge funds planning to get involved in this latest bond offering are asking the US territory to raise enough funds to last two years. Reportedly, the hedge funds…
The Securities and Exchange Commission is charging Ryan King and Thomas Gonnella with securities fraud over a bogus “parking” scam. According to its Enforcement Division, the two Wall Street traders tried to get a round a firm policy that places a penalty for holding securities too long, and one of…
Even though Puerto Rico’s debt has been downgraded to “junk” status by the three major ratings agencies (Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, and Fitch Ratings), OppenheimerFunds (OPY) has increased its holding of Puerto Rican debt in two of its municipal bond funds that carry lower risk. The credit raters downgraded the…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has ordered two Retirement Securities Inc. and Sterling Enterprises Group Inc. to pay an individual and two trusts over $900,000 in a Non-traded real estate investment trust case. The individual is investor Kristopher Brownlow and the two trusts are the Martha H. Mason Trust and…
In the wake of recent losses in the courtroom, the Securities and Exchange Commission is changing up the way it gets ready for trial. The Wall Street Journal says that SEC Chairwoman Mary Jo White has retooled the agency’s trial unit. One of the reasons for the restructuring is so…
Phillip D. Murphy, an ex-Bank of America Corp. (BAC) executive that used to run the municipal derivatives desk there, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy charges in a muni bond rigging case accusing him of conspiring to bilk the US government and bond investors. In federal court, he…
According to Investment News and The Wall Street Journal, sources in the know say that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority wants to limit how many brokerage industry insiders can act as arbitrators in investor disputes with broker-dealers and brokers. The amendment would keep anyone affiliated with the securities industry, including…
Better Markets, a non-profit group, is suing the US Department of Justice to block the $13 billion mortgage-backed securities fraud settlement reached between the federal government and JP Morgan Chase (JPM). The group wants the deal to undergo judicial review. The settlement resolves DOJ mortgage bond claims with a $2 billion…
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) has agreed to settle securities allegations that it defrauded federal agencies by underwriting mortgage loans that were sub-standard. As part of the agreement with the US government, the bank acknowledged that for over 10 years it approved thousands of insured loans that were ineligible for…
Previous articles have described the numerous problems that many investors currently face as a result of investments their broker at UBS or another brokerage firm made to invest in Puerto Rican municipal bonds. Other posts have discussed why UBS knew or should have known that those problems were imminent, and…